INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Healthcare delivery is an incredibly complex topic, but one that has a simple truth: health security is key to living a good life, and,
ultimately, for developing a strong economy
Unfortunately, billions worldwide suffer from lack of access to even the most basic of medical diagnostics and treatments, since doctors
often aren&t available and the costs when they are can be exorbitant.
That the world that Thomaz Srougi grew up with in his native Brazil
Brazil has made health security a major priority, offering comprehensive and free medical coverage to every citizen, a right enshrined in
That simple right though is riven with challenges, from a lack of public funding, to long queues for services, to geographic disparities
between urban cores and rural areas.
Those with the means use private medical services, but those costs are far outside the reach of the
majority of Brazil inhabitants
The country may have made a commitment in words, but it has in many ways failed to fulfill that commitment with actions.
Srougi wanted to
He had medicine in his DNA: his father was a urologist, and so saw first hand the challenges of the public health system
He spent years as an investment banker and financier, and also netted two masters degrees from the University of Chicago in business and
But he yearned to return to Brazil and work on ameliorating the massive health disparities that he saw in his youth.
His solution would
eventually become Dr Consulta
The concept was simple: offer the sort of universal access of the public health system, but with the quality and timeliness of the private
Srougi and his team opened their first clinic in 2011 in a São Paulo favela, the irregular slums that spread like an archipelago through
Brazil cities.
Since that humble beginning, Dr Consulta has spread rapidly throughout the country, becoming the largest private medical
service provider in Brazil, according to the company
It now boasts more than 2,000 doctors, and has served more than a million patients in a country of 208 million
In São Paulo alone, the company has 44 medical centers
That growth has certainly caught the attention of venture capitalists, who have plowed $100 million into the company since its
inception.
The company started off with just the brick-and-mortar of clinics
They were bare bones, but functional
A doctor is always on call, and they are located in the hearts of neighborhoods to guarantee accessibility
Patient records are stored digitally, and perhaps most importantly, prices are — relatively — reasonable, with basic procedures costing
Those savings come from vertical integration — the clinics are one-stop shops for medical treatments, allowing doctors to save time and
money on tests and other procedures.
Dr Consulta app allows patients to get results and feedback faster
Over time, the company has
increasingly focused on its digital practice
With its large number of patients, the company is building out its data science practice
With its patient records, Dr Consulta hopes to move beyond just basic app workflow tools to predictively analyzing patient trends and
finding new and robust treatments
The hope is that the careful application of machine learning algorithms will allow the company to simultaneously improve its patient
outcomes while continuing to drive down costs.
That data could also be valuable for medical researchers
The company is exploring partnerships with universities and others who might be able to use patient data in a confidential way in order to
investigate new therapeutics
That data could be particularly valuable since Dr Consulta data could add significant diversity to existing datasets from Western
countries.
With the clinics in place, the company is now branching out into new product lines to continue expanding its footprint
One initiative is to offer a sort of rewards card that can be used with retail partners
The idea is to build upon the brand that Dr Consulta has built and create a community of retailers that might offer complementary goods and
The company is also building out a subscription program that would allow customers to pay a flat monthly fee for unlimited medical care.
In
short, Dr Consulta wants to be the hub for health and wellness for each of its patients
The company offers a unique example of how concentrating on underserved markets with services priced effectively can be a massive startup
opportunity, while also helping people find the health security they need to build better lives.
